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If anyone was worried about Anthony Johnson’s power fighting at light heavyweight for the first time, “Rumble” allayed any concerns.

Johnson had no problem in his 205-pound debut – not with the weight cut, and not in the fight itself. Johnson cruised past Esteves Jones for a TKO early in the second round.

Johnson and Jones fought in the main event of Titan FC 24, which took place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. The main card aired live on AXS TV.

“I felt great. I’ve still got to get used to (the new weight),” Johnson said. “I can’t just say, ‘Oh, I feel comfortable with it already.’ But this is a fight – you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to win.”

Johnson landed big kicks early, then landed a double-leg takedown with ease, slamming Jones to his back. Jones tried to control Johnson’s posture from his back, but Johnson had plenty of time to work with and landed hammer fists and elbows from the top.

With a minute left, Johnson postured up and landed a couple of big bombs, then moved back in and easily mounted. With Jones holding on for his fighting life, Johnson landed dozens of strikes as the first round came to a close – with Jones getting saved by the bell.

In the second, Jones was quickly desperate and tried a combination of spinning kicks that was off the mark. But Johnson’s double-leg was far from off the mark, and “Rumble” again landed a takedown. From there, he landed shots from side control that quickly were evident wouldn’t be ending soon – and the fight was quickly stopped with Johnson getting the TKO 51 seconds into the round.

Johnson, who four times in his career – twice at welterweight and twice at middleweight – has failed to make weight for fights, said his light heavyweight debut made for an easy cut, which had him feeling good for the fight.

“I was walking around at 225 (pounds) for this, and the day of weigh-ins, I only had two pounds to go,” said Johnson, who weighed in a pound under at 204 for the fight. “It felt great, and I did awesome (with the weight cut).”

Johnson (12-4) won for the third time in four fights and second time under the Titan FC banner. He likely next faces fellow former UFC fighter Jake Rosholt. Jones (8-4), who also was making his debut at light heavyweight, but moving down from heavyweight, lost for the third time in four fights.

Estima chokes out Holland for successful MMA debut

Chris Holland reminded Braulio Estima pretty quickly that he was in a new world.

Holland tagged Estima, one of the most acclaimed Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts in the world, with an early right hand, and Estima’s knees buckled for a moment. But after that, it was smooth sailing.

Estima landed a takedown a minute into the first round and took Holland’s neck as they stood back up. Estima gave up on that and shot for a double-leg takedown, and Holland sprawled it out briefly. But Estima settled in and got to full mount with plenty of time left.

Estima worked for an arm triangle, but Holland fought his way out. But shortly thereafter, Estima passed from half guard to mount and again secured an arm triangle. Not long after that, Holland was out.

“I wasn’t hurt, but I felt it,” Estima said of Holland’s early punch. “I’m here representing a big, huge flag, which is Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and I wanted to win by submission. I’m feeling great – I’ve loved the journey up to here and I want to fight as soon as possible.”

Estima (1-0) won for the first time in his MMA career. Holland (5-5) had a three-fight win streak snapped, a stretch that included a TKO of UFC vet Phil Baroni earlier this year.

Davidson puts on clinic, stops DeVall in first round

Brian Davidson and John DeVall traded big kicks early in their fight, and it was evident something eventually was going to land with enough precision and bad intentions to be trouble for someone.

That someone was DeVall, who was the victim of a high knee from Davidson that was right down the middle. The strike dropped DeVall, and Davidson moved in to rain down punches.

Davidson quickly got to side control, then full mount, looking to do enough damage to end the fight. DeVall tried to upkick his way out of danger, but Davidson had plenty of time. As DeVall tried to get up, Davidson caught him again and sat him right back down, and from there it was cruise control to an easy TKO stoppage.

Davidson (10-3), a Strikeforce and Bellator veteran, won for the fifth straight time – with four of those coming by stoppage. DeVall (3-3) lost for the third straight time after starting his pro career 3-0.

Gibson upsets Whitney, takes unanimous decision

Andrew Whitney came in with plenty of hype, but Cody Gibson shut that down in a hurry.

Gibson set the tone early, controlling the powerful Whitney on the ground with his wrestling. But in the second, after a big flurry from Whitney backed Gibson up, Gibson rallied, scooped Whitney up and delivered a big slam.

Gibson worked well from the top, landing ground-and-pound and pushing Whitney up against the cage. Gibson then started dropping elbows, and had lots of time to work. Whitney kept working to get up, but it was all Gibson.

In the third, Whitney looked for a guillotine choke to rally, but Gibson rolled perfectly out of it to defend and was back on top with three minutes to go. Gibson worked for the mount and nearly got it. With 50 seconds left, Whitney escaped and got on top to look for a miracle, but it wasn’t there. Gibson cruised with scores of 29-28, 29-27 and 30-27.

Gibson (7-3), a veteran of Tachi Palace Fights, where he had bouts against current UFC fighters Walel Watson and Ulysses Gomez, won for the second straight time. Whitney (8-2) had his impressive five-fight win streak derailed.

Foster survives early Uhde control to win unanimous decision

Matt Uhde looked primed for an upset early, but Matt Foster just needed five minutes to get warmed up.

Foster landed a beautiful driving takedown early, but wasn’t able to do much with it. And after a scramble, Uhde wound up on top in side control looking to land elbows. Foster tried to hip escape, but Uhde moved to mount.

After an Uhde triangle attempt that had him working for elbows, Foster managed his way out and got to side control with a couple minutes to work in the first. And that may have been the moment he got his wake-up call.

Foster dominated in the second and Uhde had to survive a north-south choke at the end of the frame. Early in the third, a giant overhand right from Foster knocked Uhde’s mouthpiece out. And though Uhde was able to survive on the ground and got back to his feet, he didn’t have as much left as Foster, who picked up 29-28 nods from all three judges.

Foster (2-2) snapped a two-fight skid with the wings, while Uhde (3-1) tasted defeat for the first time in his pro career.

Stickley hands Vegas fourth straight loss with textbook triangle

Bellator vet Jose Vega worked for an early takedown and finally got one 90 seconds in. But on the ground, Stickley worked well off his back. After hearing from the referee to keep from grabbing the fence with his toes, Stickley was able to push his way off the cage, threw his legs up for a triangle and secured it.

As Vega went into panic mode, Stickley grabbed his head and pulled it down. As he squeezed with his legs and pulled with his hands, Vega tapped to the textbook choke.

Stickley (2-2) snapped a two-fight losing streak, and now has both his pro wins by triangle. Vega (8-7), after starting his career 6-0 and 7-1, lost for the fourth straight time.

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